The Iraqi Elections: Let's Keep Things In Perspective

[Yavin4]

Look, it's great that the Iraqi people were brave enough to vote yesterday. There's nothing wrong with that, but still, let's keep things in perspective:

We did not invade Iraq because we wanted them to vote. We invaded because Iraq supposedly had WMDs. Also, there were a million other ways to get to a day like yesterday WITHOUT going to war and killing thousands of Iraqis and over 1400 of our own servicemen, let alone spending almost $200 billion in the process. Additionally, Iraq is a long, long, long way from becoming a stable democracy. It make be decades before we see what kind of nation that Iraq will eventually be.

Don't get caught up in the media hype. Let them hype just like they did after Bush landed on the aircraft carrier.

[old blue]

1. Also, the more succesful the media can make this look,

the quicker we'll be on to Iran.

[phylny]

3. Yeah, you're right.

Someone explain to me again when we invade Saudi Arabia so there will be free elections and democracy?

Oh, I forgot ;)

[John BigBootay]

2. Just curious...

"Also, there were a million other ways to get to a day like yesterday WITHOUT going to war..."

Can you give me your top 5?

[Mandate My Ass]

5. Have any examples of democracy being forced

successfully on a nation at gunpoint without them having asked first?

He needs five, you only have to come up with one. How about it?

[underpants]

6. Here are a few

-get CIA ops inside Iraq to start the ball rolling
-support the Kurds and Shia in the south (covered in the no fly zone) to rebel and the house of cards crumbles (much less oil $$$)
-(this one is nasty and illegal) assassinate Saddam and his sons (Chemical Ali or the military leader would have been good choices for this one)
-Wait for Saddam (not a threat) to die

[Yavin4]

7. Here The Best Way

While we had Saddam under wraps throughout the 90s, we could have been working behind the scenes to get the major factions together to over-throw Saddam and begin their own democracy. This would have taken some doing, but an intelligent super-power could have pulled this off rather easily.

[underpants]

4. That is a crystallization of my thoughts

I don't want to get in the "Bill was NEVER wrong" boat but didn't the Iraq Liberation Act originally include money to get people on the inside to, you know, plant the seeds and get the ball rolling? I think the CIA has some experience in that field.

I am pretty sure that the oft cited ILA (I think that is the name) not only called for regime change (and proclaimed our love for apple pie :eyes: ) but it had that provision which never made the final draft. I could be wrong but I believe that is right.

Aside from regime change, having ANYONE on the inside might have helped in gathering WMD intelligence as well as prepping the battlefield (not that the US Army needed it) instead of relying on "Curveball" and other Chalabi script readers?